

It isn’t initiated by Odin or any other major deity, however, but by the Norns. Ragnarok is something that’s fated to happen in Norse mythology, similar to most Armageddon-like events in other religions. The event itself takes the shape of both a series of world-wide natural and supernatural cataclysms as well as a great final battle between the gods of Asgard and the fallen Norse heroes in Valhalla against Loki and the forces of chaos in Norse mythology such as giants, jötnar, and various other beasts and monsters. Fate of Mankind.Īll those names are highly fitting as Ragnarok is the end of the whole world, including the end of the Norse gods in the Nordic and Germanic mythology. In some literary sources, it’s also called Ragnarøkkr which means Twilight of the Gods or even Aldar Rök, i.e. Ragnarok, or Ragnarök in Old Norse, directly translates to Fate of the Gods. Ragnarok informs us of many of the Norse myths that came before it, as well as of the mentality and worldview of the people of the Norse. It’s one of the most unique apocalyptic events in human cultures and religions. The famous “End of Days” cataclysmic event in Norse myths, Ragnarok is the culmination of all myths and legends of the Norse people.

Ragnarok has a lot more going on other than Thor, but this was simply one of the big highlights from the trailer. Seeing Thor’s mythological appearance accurately represented in Ragnarok shows us that the developers care about being authentic to the source material, and that is quite honestly exciting to know going into the latest iteration of God of War. From Norse Mythology to that of Greek mythology and countless others, a civilization’s mythos teaches us about the beliefs, values, and attributes of any given culture, sometimes providing more insight into a culture than its history itself. Just like history teaches us about past civilizations and the nature of humanity, the mythologies of elder cultures can also teach us quite a lot about their respective cultures.

While mythology is not the same as history, myths are still a part of history. It’s simply refreshing to see a more authentic take on classic mythology in video games, as so many games have taken a lot of creative liberties through the years (particularly Assassin’s Creed).
